iPhone 3G S launch day tidbits

The launch of the iPhone 3G S doesn’t seem to be as crazy as the debuts of the iPhone and iPhone 3G. The crowds were lighter, thanks in part to pre-order sales. Many existing iPhone 3G users were happy with the iPhone OS 3.0 update on Wednesday. And some people who would have upgraded are waiting a while until they roll off their contracts.

Even still, AT&T Mobility President Ralph De La Vega told CNBC this morning that AT&T and Apple had hundreds of thousands of pre-orders of the iPhone 3G S. So this is shaping up to be another success for Apple and AT&T.

Here are some quotes and observations from the first few hours of iPhone 3G S sales.

Terry Stenzel, AT&T vice president and general manager for Northern California and Reno said the lines have been steady all day, with a mixture of pre-order people and customers coming in off the street. He said even with the new $99 price for the iPhone 3G 8GB, he didn’t see one of those sold on Friday. It was all about the early adopters, Friday.

Stenzel said sales have been split between the 32 and 16 GB versions of the iPhone 3G S. He said he expects sales to be robust for the new device.

“We had the best device in the industry and we just made it faster,” he said.

Bob Borchers, senior director of worldwide iPhone product marketing said the iPhone 3.0 software update might be enough for some existing users. But he said Apple has put together a winning package in the iPhone 3G S hardware and new software that he says is collectively more than just a set of modest updates.

“When you look at our history of software, we look at high level features like voice commands and video capture but we put in nice refined touches that delight you,” he said. “We try to balance the headlines with the nuanced pieces. When you take the iPhone 3G S and 3.0, it’s hard to say these are nuanced upgrades. There is a huge amount of value and improvements.”

Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous, maker of the popular music rhythm game Tap Tap Revenge, said he was excited about all the improvements and what it means for software developers. “There’s a thousand little things and some big improvements and it all adds up to a lot for developers,” he said.

Ge Wang, founder of Smule, a maker of acoustic iPhone apps, said the improvement with the most intriguing upside is the compass function on the iPhone 3G S. He said he can imagine using it to control sound by just turning your body. He said adding the video camera could also be another way to create control for games or work with his sound apps.

“Having another time-based medium to add to audio is very interesting,” he said.

Chuck Dietrich, general manager and vice president of Salesforce Mobile, said he’s already sold 100,000 Salesforce apps, suggesting that businesses are finding good use for the iPhone. He said the integration of maps in apps will only make its Salesforce app even more useful for sales and customer support workers.

Borchers said another sleeper hit will be the ability for hardware accessory manufacturers to build gadgets that can talk back and forth with the iPhone. “The impact could be ginormous,” he said. “Imagine your iPhone talking to your car or for diabetics, the iPhone working with a blood glucose monitor.”